The KU AI Task Force has launched a website and developed a set of guiding principles to inform, support and empower the KU community in using generative AI tools. Over the past year, the 17-member task force, which represents academics and leaders in AI research and innovation across KU’s campuses, explored the responsible use of GenAI. 

The website provides practical insights, policy alignment and ethical considerations for using GenAI in academic, administrative and research settings. The site also highlights the guiding principles of using GenAI at KU: human centered; value alignment; equitable; privacy, security and safety; accountability; transparency; and validity. 

In the task force’s guidelines, Microsoft Copilot is designated as the only AI tool approved for use with sensitive or personal identifying information and data or university business information. KU employees must be logged into their KU Microsoft account when using Copilot. 

Questions or comments can be sent to ai_taskforce@ku.edu.  

As the new academic year begins, the KU bus schedule will see several alterations starting today.  

Bus routes are posted on the Lawrence Transit website and the 2025-2026 Transit Guide is available as PDF.   

A new policy defines the shared and individual expectations and responsibilities for graduate student advising and mentoring across KU’s units and for those involved in graduate training. 

Last academic year, the Executive Council of Graduate Faculty developed the policy in collaboration with the Office of Graduate Studies and the Office of Faculty Affairs. Feedback was solicited from campus stakeholders, and the policy was approved and published this summer. 

The policy outlines expectations, roles, and responsibilities of graduate students, the Office of Graduate Studies, academic units, and faculty advisors and mentors in the advising and mentoring of graduate students from admission through program completion. Key components of the policy can be found on the Graduate Studies’ Policy Change Updates webpage.

The Office of Graduate Studies will host a campus-wide meeting and luncheon from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 15 for directors of graduate study and graduate support staff. The meeting will provide more details about expectations, the implementation process, and resources and support for implementing the new policy. Directors of graduate study, associate deans and graduate support staff will receive a meeting invitation before the end of August.

Eligible faculty members have until 5 p.m. Friday to enroll in the Faculty Academic Year Pay Reserve for Summer Disbursement program for the 2025-26 academic year. Those who participated last year must re-enroll to participate in the coming academic year.    

The program reserves a portion of after-tax pay from every full pay period during the academic year and then evenly disburses those funds to the participating faculty member during the summer. All academic year faculty, tenured and tenure-track faculty, unclassified academic staff, and lecturers hired for the upcoming academic year are eligible for the program.   

Eligible faculty members can enroll at HR AY Reserve. More information is available on the Human Resources website. 

In support of KU’s mission and vision, the Office of Civil Rights & Title IX will once again present the Rapport Series. Staff, faculty, postdocs and affiliates from all of KU’s campuses are invited to join OCRTIX on Aug. 26, Oct. 22 and April 22. Appetizers and drinks will be provided from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. on the first floor of the Kansas Memorial Union at the Hawks Nest & Baumgartner Terrace.  

Rapport aims to foster community at KU by providing opportunities to build connections and support systems, creating intentional space to network, and promoting an environment of belonging.  

An RSVP is requested. 

The bestselling author John Green will speak at 7 p.m. Sept. 2 at the Lied Center. Green’s book “The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet” is the KU Reads common book selection for this academic year.    

Admission to the event is free, but tickets are needed. Members of the KU community – students, faculty and staff with a KUID – can claim tickets at the Lied Center box office starting today at 11 a.m. Tickets will be made available to the general public on Friday.

Additionally, the event will be live-streamed via Crowdcast on the Hall Center’s channel. No prior registration is required, but a free Crowdcast account is necessary. More information about the event is online. 

Free copies of “The Anthropocene Reviewed” are available for personal or classroom use by request, with pickup available at Watson and Anschutz libraries. 

The Bales Choral Society is looking for new members to join the faculty and staff ensemble. Auditions will be held from 4:15 to 6:30 p.m. Aug. 26 and 28 in Murphy Hall Room 402. (Don’t worry, the auditions are low stress.) Those interested can sign up online. 

For the 2025-26 season, the Bales Choral Society will be led by Visiting Professor of Organ and Church Music Wolfgang Reisinger, who will be assisted by KU graduate students studying choral music.  

The group will present concerts at the end of the fall and spring semesters. The 2025-26 repertoire will feature John Rutter’s Gloria and Mozart’s Requiem. The group is also exploring a music tour to Vienna in February 2026 led by Reisinger, including rehearsals, performances and a guided musical tour of the city. 

Rehearsals for the choir are on Mondays from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in the Murphy Hall choir rehearsal room, starting Sept. 8. 

Faculty must upload all fall 2025 course syllabi to Simple Syllabus by Aug. 29 to comply with KU’s Syllabus Policy. If faculty use Simple Syllabus to generate their syllabi, the requirement is met. 

Resources and guidance—including required policy language and syllabus templates—are available on the Academic Success and CTE Syllabus Resources websites. 

Aug. 27

KU’s next Lunch-N-Learn will focus on substance abuse prevention strategies and treatment in a workshop provided by DCCCA staff members Chrissy Mayer and Lydia Fuqua. Whether participants are seeking help for themselves or for someone they care about, this session will equip them with practical tools and vital knowledge.  

The event will be held on Zoom from noon to 12:40 p.m. on Aug. 27. KU employees can register through My Talent and KU affiliates can email wellness@ku.edu to register. 

The workshop will identify common warning signs of substance abuse, prepare participants to respond to an overdose emergency and share how to access local treatment and support services. 

Aug. 29

KU will rededicate the World War I Memorial during a ceremony at the David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium at 2:30 p.m. Aug. 29.

Chancellor Douglas A. Girod and other guests will provide remarks. A reception will follow. The ceremony will be held on the Garlinghouse Plaza, outside the convention center on the northeast side of the stadium. Please RSVP.   

Built in the years following World War I, the football stadium was KU’s first major war memorial and commemorates the 130 students and alumni who died in the war. First dedicated on Armistice Day, Nov. 11, 1922, Memorial Stadium will be rededicated to honor its enduring legacy and to establish a distinct space for reflection, education and tribute to Jayhawks who have served in the armed forces.    

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